Kind of humid today. We had a nice couple of days before today, though.
Good afternoon from SCW.
Tropical Storm Henri is a little stronger this afternoon off the southeast coast of the US, but the internal structure still looks disorganized, which currently limits its ability to strengthen much.
The midday guidance has continued to shift west and narrow the area of focus, and a direct impact over CT is becoming increasingly likely. In fact, given the guidance trends we've seen the last 24 hours, it currently looks like the most likely scenario.
That said, there is still a lot of time for shifts back and forth, so no one should focus on the exact center point of the system. There is increasing confidence in significant coastal flooding, flash flooding, and for those that are closest to the center--damaging winds. There are still questions that need to be resolved over the exact track and how far inland strong winds are able to travel. There are also questions over the precise intensity when Henri gets here, but whether it is a strong tropical storm or just at the hurricane threshold doesn't really change impacts.
As we've said repeatedly, choose preparation over panic, and take this system seriously. We will continue to watch trends and will provide our *first call* forecast tonight.
The photo you see is essentially a summary of the latest computer model runs. It illustrates well the current consensus, but additional shifts are likely as we get closer to landfall.
-DB
I just saw on the news that Henri may directly hit Point Judith, RI, which is like 5 miles from parents' beach cottage, so not good. I spent the day helping them batten down the hatches. Where I am, it's a tropical storm warning, as I'm north of the coast. But the wind and rain could be a big problem. Eversource, the (wretched, lame) power company we have, is predicting a ridiculous number of power outages that could last 8 to 21 days. That company was horrible during Tropical Storm Isiais last year. They are trying to soften the blow of their incompetence! @KLS52 , I hope you guys will be OK. Stay safe!